Disabling mechanism for automatic phonograph



y 16, 1961 L. v. GUEST 2,984,492

DISABLING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. 13, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE N TOP Zm -u-l/M ATTORNE Y May 16, 1961 L. v. GUEST 2,934,492

DISABLING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. 13, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 /N VE N TOR Wl/W A fTORNEY 2,984,492 DISABLING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. 15, 1959 L. V. GUEST May 16, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 lN t ENTOR ATTORNEY May 16, 1961 Filed Feb. 13, 1959 L. V. GUEST DISABLING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VENTOR ATTORNE Y May 16, 1961 DISABLING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. 13, 1959 L. V. GUEST 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENTOR ATTORNE Y 2,984,492 DISABLING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. 13, 1959 L. V. GUEST May 16, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fig.9.

INVENTOR ATToRA/Ey by J United States Patent DISABLING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Lawrence Vincent Guest, Old Hill, England, assignor to Birmingham Sound Reproducers Limited, Stalfordshire, England Filed Feb. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 793,119 Claims priority, application Great Britain Feb. 28, 1958 6 Claims. (Cl. 274-10) The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to automatic talking machines, and of the kind capable of playing .a number of disc records allowed to "fall singly in succession along a spindle into the playing position from the lower end of a stack of disc records supported wholly or in part by the spindle above the playing position.

It is common to provide such machines with mechanism for stopping the machine when all the discs in the stack have been played, the mechanism being such that parts thereof are subjected to a preliminary setting or preparatoryroperation during the cycle of automatic operations in which the last disc record of a stack falls to the playing position such that the stopping mechanism will operate to stop the machine, usually by opening a switch in the circuit of a driving electric motor during a cycle of movement of the automatic mechanism following the playing of that last record. The preliminary setting operation has in some cases been dependent upon the downward movement of what may be termed a record-steady arm arranged to rest upon the upper record of a supported stack so as to be held in a position above a certain elevation whilst any record remains in the supported stack and to make an extended movement downwards when no longer supported by any record.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an automatic talking machine with an improved form of stopping mechanism of this kind which is of robust, compact and economical construction and which is of improved reliability in use as compared with constructions at present commercially available.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a stopping mechanism which in addition to stopping the machine also serves, when the machine is being stopped, to retain the pick-up arm in a rest position outside the tumtable so that contact of the stylus with the turntable and risk of damage to the stylus is prevented.

In accordance with the invention an automatic talking machine of the kind indicated is provided having a record-steady arm carried by a vertical post capable of up anddown movement, a movable control for closing and opening a switch in the circuit of the driving motor of the machine, a stop plate mounted for swinging movements, and forrectilinear movements over several paths. under the influence of an operating part of the automatic. mechanism making a to and fro movement during each automatic cycle of the machine, a first of said paths corresponding with the raised position of the spindle of the record-steady arm, a second of said paths corresponding withvthe lowered position of the spindle of the recordsteadyarmand a third of said paths being determined by astop preventing direct transfer of the stop plate from thmsaid first to the said second of said paths. and a cut-ofillever operatively connected with the movable control device and mounted for rectilinear movements under thelinfiuence ofsaid operating part of the automatic mechanismtand swingingmovements in follow-up of the swingtug'rnovements of the stop plate, the co-operation between Ice the cut-off lever and the said operating'part of the automatic mechanism being such that the rectilinear movement imparted to the cut-01f lever by said operating part when the stop plate is in a position corresponding to its said second path of movement, is a movement of greater extent than in any positions of the stop plate corresponding to its other paths of movement and such as to move the movable switch. control and open the switch of the machine motor.

The inward movement of the pick-up arm to locate the stylus over theedge of a record dropped from the stack may be determined by the engagement of a part of a shaped plate conveniently termed the quadrant fixed to the pick-up arm for pivotal swinging movement therewith with a stop member in the manner described in the specification of patent application Serial Number 734,453 and in accordance with a further feature of the present invention a projection may be provided on the stop plate of the present invention such that in a position of the stop plate in its second path of movement preceding itsfinal restoration by the operative member the said projection is located in the path of the quadrant and prevents the inward swingingmovement of the quadrant and therefore of the pick-up which would otherwise take place under the influence of the operative member, it being understood that some form of slipping or disengageable connection is provided between the quadrant and the operative member such as that described in our earlier specification referred to above.

The engagement between the projection on the stopplate and the quadrant is temporary and occurs prior to the stopping of the motor, and disengagement of the projections to free the quadrant and pick-up is effected upon completion of the restoring of the stop plate by the operative member.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a general perspective view illustrating a complete machine of the kind with which the present inven-- tion is suitable for use.

Fig. 2 is an underside plan view of parts of the automatic mechanism relevant to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view in sectional elevation on a larger scale of part of the rising and falling vertical post carrying the record-steady arm.

Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are views in underside plan showingi various positions of the parts of the stop mechanism, an

Fig. 9 is an underside plan view showing the means for preventing inward swing of the pick-up arm from its outward swing position during the automatic cycle following playing of the last record.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the machine shown is'of the kind comprising a base plate 1, a turntable 2 mounted for rotation above the base plate 1 and driven by an electric motor 3 (Fig. 2) attached to the underside of the base plate 1, through a transmission mechanism of any well known form (not shown), a pickup arm 4 mounted in conventional manner for movement about horizontal and vertical pivotal axes and carrying a pick-up 5 at its free end, a stationary vertical spindle 6 extending upwards from the centre of the turntable 2 to support a stack of disc records 7 above the turntable 2 for release automatically in well known manner in single succession during succeeding automatic cycles of the machine to fall into the playing position and a record-steady arm 8 fixed to the upper end of a post 9 capable of moving up. and down and also for limited rotation in a guide 10 mounted on the base plate 1, the record-steady arm 8 in operation resting upon the surface of the upper record of the stack 7 whereby the post 9 is held in .an elevated position, and being arranged to move downwards V r V 3 together with the post 9 when the last record of the stack falls to the playing position.

The automatic cycle of movements to initiate the playing of a record is carried out by a main operating member in the form of a plate 11 arranged to make a single to and fro movement of fixed amplitude about a fixed pivot 12 on the underside of the base plate 1 e.g. by means of a rotating cam (not shown) clutched automatically in .well known manner for rotation by the machine motor on completion of the playing of a record, the cam making a single complete revolution in each automatic cycle and acting upon a cam follower pin 13 (Fig. 2) on the operative plate 11 to effect a single complete reciprocation of the plate about its pivot 12.

The plate 11 is shown in its rest position, i.e. that occupied when a record is being played, in Fig. 2 and during an automatic cycle it is first swung counterclockwise to a position as shown in Fig.4 and then returned to the rest position and these movements of the plate 11 are utilised in a normal complete automatic cycle to raise the pick-up arms 4 to disengage the stylus of the pick-up from the played record, swing the pick-up arm outwards to a position outside the path of any falling record, release a record from the stack 7 to fall to the playing position, swing the pick-up arm inwards and lower it to engage the stylus of the pick-up 5 with the dropped record now in the playing position.

A switch 14 for starting and stopping the motor 3 of the machine is fixed to the underside of the base plate 1, the switch being closed or opened by a switch control comprising a switch-lever 15 pivoted at 16 to the underside of the base plate and movable between two positions shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 2, the lever being biased towards the switch-open dotted line position by a tension spring 17.

The movable switch control also includes a latch-lever 18, mounted for movement beneath a sub-plate 19, the latch-lever having an upstanding pin 20 extending through a slot in a bridge piece 21 fixed beneath the sub-plate 19 and also into a slot 22 formed in a cut-off lever 23 movable between the sub-plate 19 and the bridge piece 21, the latch lever 18 being retained by a spring washer (no-t shown) applied over the pin 20 between the bridge piece 21 and the cut-off lever 23.

The latch-lever 18 is capable of both rectilinear and rocking movement in its own plane and its free end is formed with a nose cam 24 for engagement with a pin 25 on the end of switch lever 15.

A hand control 26 accessible from above the base plate 1 is connected through a rod'27 with the latch-lever 18 whereby the latter may be moved against a light tension spring 28 to rock the switch lever 15 by means of the nose cam 24 into the switch-closed position, the levers 18 and 15 being retained as set by the engagement of a shallow notch 29 in the latch-lever 18 with a fixed pin 30 on the sub-plate 19 under the pull of the tension spring 28.

The latch-lever 18 is moved automatically when the last record from the stack has been played, to release the switch lever 15 and for movement by the spring 17 to open the switch 14, to stop the machine and the means according to the present invention for effecting this movement of the latch-lever 18 is as follows:

On the underside of the sub-plate 19 is provided a short sleeve 31 forming a lower extension of the guide 10 for the vertical post 9 carrying the record steady arm 8.

A notch 32 with an inclined lower end wall 33 (Fig. 3) is formed in one side of the post 9 and a horizontal slot 34 is formed in the wall of the sleeve 31 giving access to the notch 32 in the post in the lowered position of the latter.

Between the sub-plate 19 and the bridge piece 21 is mounted a stop-plate 35 having a slot 36 therein engaged over a fixed pin 37 under the sub-plate so that the stopplate is capable of both rectilinear and rocking movement 1. 1 s o n a One edge of the stop-plate 35 is engaged in the slot 34 in the guide sleeve 31 and a light tension spring 38 urges the stop-plate in the longitudinal direction and also the edge thereof into the slot 34.

The same edge of the stop-plate 35 at a point spaced from the sleeve 31 is furnished with an elongated recess 39, this recess 39 being partly masked by a longitudinally extendnig beak 40 extending from one end wall of the recess.

A fixed pin 41 depends from the sub-plate 19 for cooperation with the recess 39 and the beak 40 in a manner yet to be described.

On the other edge of the stop-plate 35 near one end thereof is formed a downwardly extending lug 42 and nearer to the same end is a downwardly extending pin 43 for engagement by one edge of the main operative plate 11.

The cut-off lever 23 previously described as being pinand-slot connected with the latch-lever 18, is also mounted for rectilinear and rocking movement in its own plane between the sub-plate 19 and the bridge piece 21. The free end of the cut-off lever 23, i.e. the end remote from the latch-lever 18, is shaped to form a shoe 44 capable of making abutting and rubbing engagement with a straight part of one edge of the stop-plate 35 and a spring 45 is connected between the cut-ofi lever 23 and the bridge piece 21 tending to maintain the shoe 44 in contact with the stop lever 35.

A fixed pin 46 depends from the cut-01f lever 23 in a position for engagement by the edge of the operative plate 11. V

On the edge of the operative plate 11 adjacent the depending pins 43 and 46 on the stop plate 35 and the cut-off lever 23 respectively, is formed a laterally out: wardly extending lug 47 which in the normal rest posi tion of the automatic mechanism extends through the gap between the pins 43 and 46 as shown in Fig. 2 whilst lying closer to the pin 46 on the cut-off lever 23 than to the pin 43 on the stop-plate 35.

The operation is as follows:

It will be assumed that the pick-up arm 4 is an outswung position of rest upon a supporting post 54 (Fig. 1), that a stack of records 7 to be played is in position on the record support spindle 6 and the record-steady arm 8 is resting upon the upper surface of the stack so that the vertical post 9 carrying the record-steady arm 8 is held in an elevated position in its vertical guides 10 and 31. In this position the notch' 32 in the post'9 is above the horizontal slot 34 in the sleeve 31 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 so that the edge of the stop-plate 35 is engaged with the body of the post 9 and the edge of the operative plate 11 is in engagement with the pins 43 and 46 as shown in Fig. 2, the springs 38 and 45'bcing loaded, and the stop-plate 35 is incapable of swinging movement under the pull of its biasing spring 38.

The machine motor may now be started by operation of the control 26 and the rod 27 to move the latch-lever 18 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to close the switch 14 in the motor circuit, the same movement being utilised in known manner to start a first-automatic cycle in which one record will be dropped from the stack 7 on to the turntable 2 and the pick-up arm 4 thereafter swung inwards and finally lowered to engage the stylus of the pick-up 5 with the dropped record. -As the operating plate 11 commences its movement 111 one direction about pivot 12 in Fig. 2, it is followed for a short distance by the stop-plate 35 and cut-0E lever 23 to an extent determined by their pin and guide slots, the positions taken by the parts being shown in Fig. 4. At the end of the movement of the operative plate 11 in the reverse direction the stop-plate 35 and cut-off lever 23 are returned by engagement of the op erative plate with the pins 43 and 46, to their original positions i.e. those of Fig. 2. Since the stop-plate 35 makes these movements with one of its edges in sliding engagement with the vertical post 9 of the record-steady arm 8, its movements are rectilinear movements without appreciable swing and this applies also to the cut-off lever 23 which remains in contact through the shoe 44 with the stop-plate 35. These movements of the stopplate 35 represent movements in the first path of rectilinear movement previously referred to.

The above described movements of the stop-plate 35 and cut-off lever 23take place during each following automatic cycle until that in which the last record is dropped from the stack 7.

When that cycle takes place the to and fro-moving operating plate 11 carries out the usual sequence of operations consisting in raising the pick-up arm 4, swinging it outwards, dropping the last record and then swinging the pick-up arm 4 inwards and lowering it as before, and again as the operating plate 11 commences its movement in one direction the stop-plate 35 and cut-off lever 23 ,mallie a follow-up movement in the above described first pa Dropping of the last record of the stack 7 on to the turntable 2 during that cycle results in the substantially simultaneous downward movement of the record-steady arm 8 and its vertical post 9 in the guides 10 and 33 and the post 9 takes a lowered position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 in which the notch 32 therein is in register with the slot 34 in the sleeve 31 so that the edge of the stop-plate 35 can now enter the slot 34 and notch 32, the stop-plate 35 rocking about its guide pin 37 on the subplate 19 under the pull of its biasing spring 38 and being followed-up by rocking of the cut-off lever 23 under the pull of its spring 45 so that the shoe 44 on the cut-off lever remains in contact with the stop-plate 35.

Such release of the last record and falling of the post 9 however takes place after some movement of the stopplate 35 in its first path of rectilinear movement and the extent of this movement is such that rocking of the stopplate 35 when the post 9 falls is limited by engagement of the masking beak 40 on the stop-plate 35 with the fixed pin 41 extending downwards from the sub-plate 19 (Fig. 8). The rocking movement permitted to the cutolf lever 23 is therefore also limited and it takes a position as shown in Fig. 8 in which its pin 46 is still out of the path of the lug 47 on the operative plate 11 or in other Words the lug 47 can still pass between pins 43 and 46. The stop-plate 35 remains in this intermediate positionuntil the operative plate 11 has nearly completed its return movement whereupon the beak 40 is withdrawn past the fixed pin 41 so that the recess 39 envelops the pin 41 under the pull of the spring 38 and the edge of the stop-plate 35 allowed to enter further into the sleeve 31 and notch 32 until the edge of the recess 39 in the stopplate 35 engages the fixed pin 41. The movement of the stop-plate 35 to disengage the beak 40 from the pin 41 is a rectilinear movement in the third path previously referred to and while it is taking place and before the disengagement occurs, contact of the shoe 44 on the cut-off lever 23 with the stop-plate ensures that pin 46 on the cut-off lever 23 engaged by the operative plate 11, is held out of the path of the projecting lug 47 on the operative plate 11 whilst the latter is returning to the rest position as shown in Fig. 5.

When the last record has been played and an autocycle is initiated the operative plate 11 moves as before to raise the pick-up arm and swing it outwards and the stop-plate 35 moves in its second path of rectilinear movement with its edge in the notch 32 in post 9 in following the early part of the movement of the operative plate 11 in one direction.

The cut-off lever 23 also follows the operative plate 11 for a limited distance as before after which it remains stationary whilst the lug 47 on the operative plate 11 withdraws from the pin 46 beneath the cutoff lever. The cut-oft lever 23 is thereupon rocked by its biasing spring 45 from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig.

6 in whichthe shoe 44 on the cut-olf lever 23 is engaged with: the edge of stop plate 35, the latter having been moved rectilinearly relative to fixed pin from the position of Fig. 5 to that of Fig. 6 by the spring 38, and in this position of the cut-off lever 23 the pin 46 lies in the path of the lug 47 extending from the edge of the operative plate 11.

As the operative plate 11 moves into the fully returned position both the stop-plate 35 and the cut-off lever 23 are retracted thereby but in particular the lug 47 engages the pin 46 as shown at 46 in Fig. 7 an extended movement is imparted to the cut-olf lever 23 such thatthe cut-off lever 23 draws upon the latch lever 18 by virtue of its pin-and-slot connection therewith from engagement with the pin 25 on the switch control lever 15 so that the lever is rocked by spring 17 to open the switch 14.

Resetting of the stop plate 35 and the cut-off lever 23, is effected by the lifting of the record-steady arm 8 and its post 9 as a preliminary to rotating these parts as is necessary for removing played records and re-loading the machine with others, the inclined surface 33 at the lower end of the notch 32 in the post 9 engaging and displacing the edge of the stop-plate 35 outwards through the slot 34 in the sleeve 31.

As resetting ofthe stop plate takes place it engages and rocks the cut-off lever 23 in such a manner that the pin 46 is disengaged from the lug 47 and re-engaged with the edge of the plate 11.

The outward and inward swinging of the pick-up, arm 4 is effected by the operative plate 11 through engagement of a forked coupling member 48 carried on the operative plate 11, with a pin 49 on a locator plate or quadrant 50 fixed to the lower end of a vertical spindle 51 carrying and, forming the vertical axial pivot of the pick-up arm, the coupling member 48 being pivoted at 52 (Fig. 9) on the operative plate 11 and engaged therewith with friction so as to be capable of yielding about its pivot during such intervals in an. automatic cycle when the pick-up arm 4is required to remain stationary whilst the operative plate 11 is moving, all as fully described and illustrated in application Ser. No. 734,453.

On a projecting extremity of the quadrant 50 is formed an upstanding lug 53.

The quadrant 50 is shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 9 in the position corresponding to the fully outswung position of the pick-up arm 4 in which the pick-up is over the rest pillar 54 on the base plate, the quadrant having been moved by the operative plate 11 and coupling member 48 clockwise about the axis of the vertical pick-up arm supporting spindle 51.

During normal automatic cycles and during the automatic cycle preceding the playing of the last record, in which stop plate, 35 is moved over either the first or the third previously described paths, the upstanding lug 42 on the stop plate 35 takes a position where it. is to the rear of the lug 53 on the outswung and stationary quadrant as shown in Figs. 4 and 8 and therefore presents no 0bstacle to subsequent counterclockwise inward swinging movement of the quadrant 50 and inward swinging of the pick-up arm 4 under the influence of the operative plate 11 and the coupling member 48.

During the last automatic cycle in which the stop plate 35 moves over its second path with the edge of the recess 39 in contact with the stationary pin 41, the rectilinear movement of the stop plate 35 in one direction under the pull of the spring 38 is caused to cease by the engagement of that end of the recess 39 of the stop plate which is inside the beak 40, in the manner shown in Fig. 6, and in this temporary position of the stop plate 35 the lug 42 on the stop plate is immediately in front of the lug 53 and subsequent counterclockwise inward swinging movement of the quadrant 50 and inward swinging of the pickup arm 4 by the operative plate 11 and the coupling member is therefore prevented, the coupling member 48 "whilst engaged with the pin 49 on the quadrant yielding against friction on the operative plate 11 and the subsequent lowering of the pick-up arm takes effect to place the arm in a rest position on the rest pillar 54 on the base plate 1 with consequent avoidance of risk of injury to the stylus.

The lug 42 on the stop plate 35 is withdrawn from enand resetting of the mechanism by raising the post 9 as previously described ensures that no obstacle is presented by the lug 42 to inward swinging of the kuadrant 50 and 'pick-up until the post 9 has again fallen and a last record of a further stack has been played.

I claim: 1. An automatic record player having a turntable, a

pickup for playing disc records dropped in single succession from the lower end of a stack of records located above the turntable, a cyclically operating mechanism for eflfecting the dripping of the lowermost record of the stack, an electric motor for driving the turntable, a vertically movable and notched post, a record steady arm connected with the post and resting upon the stack of records to hold the post raised until the last record falls and the post thereby permitted to simultaneously move to its lowermost position, said mechanism including a reciprocatable member movable over a path of constant amplitude, a movable stop plate in the plane of the notch when the post is in lowermost position, means mounting said istop plate for substantially rectilinear movement by the reciprocating member in timed relation with the cyclically operating mechanism and for lateral movement toward the post whereby the stop plate may move rectilinearly in three diflerent paths, means biasing the stop plate against the post, a stop member, an abutment on the stop plate positioned to engage the stop member to prevent entry of the stop plate into the notch upon rectilinear movement of the stop plate in one direction at the time the dropping of the lowermost record is effected by the cyclically moving mechanism, said abutment and stop member being disengaged upon rectilinear movement of the stop plate in the opposite direction to allow lateral movement of the stop plate for entry into the notch, an electric switch in the motor circuit, a movable switch control member and means responsive to movement of the .stop plate into the notch to operatively connect the switch control member with the reciprocatable member for operation thereby to deenergize the motor.

2. An automatic record player as claimed in claim 1 in which the means responsive to movement of the stop plate into the notch comprises a cut-off lever operatively connected with said movable switch control member and mounted for substantially rectilinear movement under the control of said reciprocatable member and for swinging movements under control of said stop plate, and means on said reciprocatable member engaging and moving said cut-off lever and the movable switch control member to open said switch when the said stop plate has moved into the notch and the cut-oil lever is in engagement with said stop plate. V

3. An automatic record player as claimed in claim 2, and including a projecting lug on reciprocatable member engaging the cut-off lever and imparting an extended movement thereto to open the switch when the cut-off lever is in engagement with the stop plate and the stop plate is in its second path of movement.

gageable with a projection on the cut-off lever for preventing follow up movement thereof to the stop plate when the reciprocatable member is moved in a direction to allow the stop plate to move in said opposite direction to disengage its abutment from the stop member and move into the notch, said reciprocatable member upon movement in the other direction releasing said cut-oil lever for movement into engagement with the stop member to position the projection in the path of the lug on the reciprocatable member when the latter is moved again in the one direction by operation of the cyclically operating mechanism.

6. An automatic record player according to claim 1 in which the pick up is mounted on a swinging arm, a locating member connected for swinging movement with the pick-up arm, a coupling member moving said locat- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,295,092 Often Sept. 8, 1942 2,545,643 Bender Mar. 20, 1951 2,701,721 Mullaney Feb. 8, 1955 2,868,545 Vistain Jan. 13, 1959 

